Thursday, April 21

The only reason Taiwan is still an issue is because countries will not acknowledge this. Taiwan is not independent but the US sells military weapons to it? Does this mean that the US is selling weapons to China? Of course not, so what does this mean?

Background: “In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the native population within the governing structure. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform.”

The country has a President and Vice-President. Ruling positions that do not exist in Communist China. These positions are filled through elections held every four years.

The CIA lists that 25% of Taiwan’s exports are to China.

Taiwan has a separate currency than China.

Taiwan has its own Military.

The CIA summary has a chapter “International Disputes”

“involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003, China and Taiwan asserted claims to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) with increased media coverage and protest actions”

Now lets compare Taiwan’s situation with that of Hong Kong.

Background: “Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years.”

The CIA lists Hong Kong as a “Special administrative region of China” There are no special notations for Taiwan.

The US Sate Department has Taiwan on the list of “Independent States in the World.” It is listed in the ‘other’ category, but it is listed as an independent state with the following footnote:

“Claimed by both the Government of the People's Republic of China and the authorities on Taiwan. Administered by the authorities on Taiwan.”

So in other words Taiwan is an Independent State that China claims as theirs. This is hardly in line with the claims of the Chinese Government. Nor in line with the "one country, two systems" formula being used for Hong Kong.

Just to clear any doubt on my assertion that Taiwan is an independent country, one can look at the US Sate Department’s “Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty.” To get an idea, here are some ‘countries’ that are not independent:

Aruba (Netherlands)

Bermuda (UK)

Cayman Islands (UK)

Gibraltar (UK)

Greenland (Denmark)

Hong Kong (China)

Puerto Rico (United States)

China is becoming a stronger military power and with that has been more aggressive. They have demanded that the EU drop its embargo against selling military weapons to them, calling it racist. Passing a law to permit military force against Taiwan if it declares independence. Take the position opposite the US in the Security Council.

Should the US position change and formally recognize Taiwan. Just think of the benefits of this action. It puts China in its place. It provides justice to the Taiwanese people. It would also teach the French a lesson.

The French are most eager to stir the pot and Taiwan appears to be their best bet if forcing the US into a new conflict. How else can we view this? Why would the French Premier support China’s new law authorizing the use of military force against Taiwan to prevent independence? Why was there no protest or calls for the use of only peaceful means to resolve this long-standing situation? Why is there no demand that the Security Council first approve any use of force?

French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he supported Beijing's "anti-secession" law on Taiwan, and vowed to keep pushing for an end to an EU arms embargo that could open the door for Paris to sell weapons to the Asian giant.

So the French position is clear. This was said just after the EU Parliament voted against lifting the EU’s arms embargo against China by 431 to 85. But the position of the French Government is to continue to push to end the embargo. Of course the French Premier was making his statement in China with completed deals worth over $3 billion in his jacket pocket. Lucky for the Chinese that some countries have no shame nor any care for the future problems their actions will create.

Sunday, April 10

We have all heard the numerous conspiracy theories circling about the President:

Bush had prior knowledge about the Sept 11th terrorist attack.

Bush lied about WMD in Iraq.

Bush stole the 2000 election.

Bush stole the 2004 election.

This country is full of citizens who are dying to vote against Bush but somehow are not able to because of some impediment (like a felony conviction) that “disenfranchises” them.

Electronic voting machines were rigged to vote for Bush.

The “Iraqi Bloggers” are paid CIA Agents.

All pro-Bush Bloggers are paid by the White House.

The vast majority of the country did not vote for Bush

I did not list all of them. There is no shortage of conspiracy theories. There are probably dozens I have not heard of yet. But in all of this noise, lies hidden a real conspiracy. A Liberal Conspiracy that with the exception of the occasional mention of a piece of it in the mainstream media, lies hidden beneath the waves, just like an iceberg.

The Election:

Paid Bloggers - Some bloggers are paid and it is alleged that a number of the conservative bloggers receive money to write good things and the President and his administration and causes, as well as write bad things about those who oppose him. Funny that it turns out that at least two bloggers were paid during the election season, two liberal bloggers. They were paid by the Dean campaign to ensure that their blogs would continue to write favorable stories about Dean or at least not write anything negative about him. This was not a one-time payment like a donation. They were hired as consultants. The bloggers who were paid denied that this affected their writings, but the person who hired them on behalf of the Dean Campaign said that that was the very reason for hiring them. (note: this blogger wishes that he was compromised by neocon benefactors, but alas my check must have been lost in the mail.)

This story received nowhere near the attention as did the story of the gay reporter who somehow managed to get into the Whitehouse press briefings to supposedly asked softball questions. Funny that the press got suspicious of him because he did not ask questions critical of the administration….

Then we have “Wonkette.” While not a paid blogger (as far as we know,) she made the comment that Jenna Bush drank “Jew baby blood” which the MSM ignored, as they normally do with racial comments made by the left. Perhaps that was because they often ran to her to participate in news programs as a operator of a “leading” blog. People have been crucified by the media before for less controversial statements. But then again, it would not be in their best interest to knock her down.

The 527’s, George Soros and the homemakers - This election brought us 527s. They are essentially a way for people and groups to get out their message independently of the political parties. I am sure everyone will agree that the majority of the 527s were liberal and Democrat friendly in nature. They also received the lion’s share of the donations received by all 527s. It has been said that the Republicans and their supports were well behind the curve in setting up their own 527s in support of the President. Some of the largest 527s were/are the following:

Moveon.org

Media Fund

America Coming together

The Website OpenSecrets.org has very good accounting of the 527s and who funded them. (see the Top 50) It does not take very long to see that Mr. Soros had his hand in all of the well-funded 527s through the Soros Fund. Well you will not find Mr. Soros as one of the contributors to the Media fund, but their biggest contributor was the Joint Victory Campaign, which the Soros Fund gave $12 million.

So whatever 527 you aligned yourself with, you sided with Mr. Soros. I would not think that this would be something that a Liberal would approve of. After all he really is the poster child of the abuses of capitalism. At the very least, the way he obtained his fortune is hardly in the spirit and fashion of the ideals of the Democratic Party. Mr. Soros has recently been convicted of insider trading in France. Yet, to this day, Mr. Soros, or at least his money, is welcome when it comes to advancing Liberal causes.

The one 527 that received more attention that all the rest, is the (in)famous Swift Vets. They did have the most impact, but then again the truth often smarts when your smacked in the face with it. Looking at the data, it clearly shows that the Swift Boat Vets have very few big money contributors, as opposed to the 527s listed above.

A large portion of the Swift Boat money came from small donations of under $1,000. Those who identified themselves as “Homemaker” were the 13th highest donor class for the Swift Vets. Contrast that with those who gave to America Coming Together (ACT) who identified themselves as “Homemaker” which was the 44the highest donor class. Perhaps it ranked so low because only 15 homemakers gave to ACT. Still those fifteen gave $214,500. The Swift Vets had 224 homemaker donors who gave $80 thousand. Which sounds more grass roots to you? Which groups seems to have more disposable cash to you? I would swear that this data should be reversed. Every single Homemaker that gave to Act, gave at least $1,000. Don’t take my word for it, click on the two links and look at the data yourself.

Pollster Bias - Aiding the Democratic Party were the pollsters. They recently released a report explaining how they overestimated the Kerry vote. They determined that they hired mostly Kerry supporters who were more likely to question people like them who also happened to also be Kerry supporters. It also turned out that Bush supporters were less likely to talk to pollsters. What a shocker! At least the pollsters now know this and can take this into consideration for the next election. But wait, I seem to remember that the pollsters completely blew the 2002 mid-term election. If I remember correctly, people who tended to vote Republican did not bother to answer the pollster’s questions when they called them at home. Obviously they did not bother to factor in this characteristic into the calculations for this election. It is strange though that many (liberals) were very concerned that the election polls were not taking into account the many newly registered first time voters. My guess is that the pollsters will blow the next election too.

Election Fraud - There were many allegations of voter fraud but only those benefiting Bush got any coverage. Those accusations tended to be off the wall, such as voting machine rigging and fact-less claims of disenfranchisement. However, the news makes almost no mention of massive voter fraud in places like Wisconsin where Kerry won with a slim lead of fewer than 12,000 votes. The state allows same-day registration and voting. Part of the process involves mailing a confirmation card to the registrant’s address. As it turns out, the same-day registrations were so poorly checked by the election workers in that thousands of registrations did not contain a mailing address or addresses so bad that they could not be mailed. Many more Thousands were returned as undeliverable. This just screams abuse. Where is the press? Where are the investigative reports tracking down these “missing” registrants? It is very possible that the number of illegal votes was much higher than the difference between the two candidates. The press was all over Florida in 2000. Where were they in Wisconsin in 2004? Now the are trying to enact legislation to prevent this in the future. But at least one 527 still had some of soro’s money left over to fight the state’s Voter ID bill. Why, because it is partisan.

Then there is Detroit, where the Republican observers were kicked out of the counting room. Apparently the election officials were protesting vote enhancement as well as stacks of blank ballots on the counting table. Then there is my favorite, in 2000 democrats were rounding up homeless people in some city and offering them cigarettes in exchange for them voting. Talk about the party that delivers!

Democrat Politicians and the DNC - The Democrats Demand that Bush and the Republicans reach across the congressional aisle to mend fences with the Democrats. Yet they do nothing to help mend fences and they still take the opportunity to fight the President at every turn. Some of the recent examples of this behavior include:

Delaying the nomination of Roberto Gonzalez

Delaying the nomination of Condoleezza Rice

Delaying judicial nominations

Attempting to kill any changes to Social Security

Now that Howard Dean has become head of the Democratic National Party, he is doing everything possible to kill whatever good-faith the Republicans really have for bi-partisanship, saying that "I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for." He has also has called Republicans evil. We have yet to see Mr. Dean actually try to sabotage progress in congress, but I am sure that when he does go into action, it will be a real show-stopper.

The officials

Sandy Berger – What on earth was Mr. Berger smuggling out of the archives in his pants? The press so far has no interest in doing any sort of investigative reporting of Mr. Berger’s document smuggling. Mr. Berger has recently pleaded guilty to the charges of theft and destruction of government secrets. I am still waiting for the 60 Minutes report on Mr. Berger. Surely they can find enough material to fill 20 minutes investigating what Mr. Berger might have been trying to hide. Or are they not interested in investigating convicted felons? Perhaps they forgot how to investigate a story that actually has facts.

Ambassador Joseph Wilson - Supposedly his wife was “outted” as an undercover CIA Agent by an unnamed member of the Bush Administration. Ambassador Wilson claims that this was punishment for his report that Iraq was not attempting to buy uranium yellowcake from Niger. Now the reporters who published that his wife was an agent are only being pressed for the name of the official who told them. Am I the only person who knows that it was the press who outted her? It is one thing for one person to tell a secret to another. It is another thing for the person to turn around and turn the secret into a news story.

Then there is the central issue that Ambassador Wilson played in discrediting the President. Mainly by saying that the Iraqi’s were not trying to buy uranium from Niger. Well it seems that the Iraqi’s were attempting to do exactly that:

“It is accepted by all parties that Iraqi officials visited Niger in 1999. The British Government had intelligence from several different sources indicating that this visit was for the purpose of acquiring uranium. Since uranium constitutes almost three-quarters of Niger’s exports, the intelligence was credible.” - UK Butler Report.

Now Mr. Wilson has disappeared just like his website http://www.restorehonesty.com/. The website now redirects to John Kerry’s website, but you can get a glimpse of what it used to be HERE.

“George Bush's Administration has betrayed our trust - I know that personally. I am honored to endorse John Kerry and to commit myself to his campaign to wrest our democracy back from those who have so squandered the public trust.” – Joe Wilson

The press never seriously investigated Mr. Wilson, especially after his work was shown to actually support the government’s position. I am still waiting for the 60 Minutes report on Mr. Wilson. Surely they can find enough material to fill 20 minutes investigating what Mr. Wilson and his ulterior motives, like perhaps helping Mr. Kerry become President. What cabinet position was he promised? Mr. Wilson is not a convicted Felon, but should he be?

Current and Former Ambassadors – These are the gentlemen (and Ladies) who are representatives of the government in other countries. Normally they are the ones who carry out US policy. They are not the ones who make policy, or who feature prominently in the news. They are also not normally the ones who are heard during a presidential debate. However the hate for the President is so strong in the State Department that a number of diplomats felt compelled to write a letter against the President. Basically, because their jobs would be so much easier if we had a president that the countries they work in would like.

The original letter did not do much good, but that did not stop them from writing a second one opposing the President’s appointment of John Bolton to the United Nations. Perhaps the signatories were more bitter that they were not selected for the position. At any rate, I do not see this as acceptable behavior for our diplomats. They serve at the pleasure of our President and if they find that too bitter, then perhaps they should look for more rewarding employment elsewhere. At the very least, it tells the other countries that our diplomats do not support our President. That is a nice thing to know, that the person negotiating on behalf of the US hates his boss.

Senator John Kerry - This is the Senator who wanted to be President. During his campaign, among other things, he charged that President Bush was reckless for taking care of the Iraq “problem” without including the international community. The Senator also charged that the President has been reckless in his dealing with North Korea. Instead of taking care of the North Korea “problem” like the cowboy others portray him to be, the President has been insisting that the international community participate in negotiating with North Korea. This is the method Senator Kerry and the world preferred for dealing with Iraq. So now the President is willing to do it the World’s way. The Senator, who is very astute when it comes to listening to the demands of our enemies, is calling for one-to-one talks with North Korea, just like the North Koreans want. Perhaps he is looking to get a free trip to Paris to listen to them in person, since he has the experience with this type of work.

Senator Kerry is also the Senator who won three purple hearts and a Silver Star during a short tour of Vietnam. There are questions surrounding the awarding of some (if not all) of these medals. There are also serious questions surrounding the Senator’s actions after he returned from Vietnam. He illegally negotiated with North Vietnamese in Paris. He attended a meeting where the assassination of members of congress was discussed. (it is not clear if he was in the room during that discussion, but there has been no serious investigative reporting to determine what was discussed when the senator was in the room.)

Senator Kerry has also been caught in some statements that are not very truthful. There is the now admitted mistake in his memory that he spent Christmas in Cambodia. It was “seared” into his memory, but in the end that was not true. There are some questions about Senator Kerry’s Navy service (or lack of) after he returned from Vietnam. Senator Kerry keeps promising to sign the form to release his full military record. Two months later, he has yet to do so. My guess is that there is some truly embarrassing document in there that he will never sign it. If the documents ever see the light of day, they might just kill the careers of anyone who backed Senator Kerry for President. We hear the cries of the left that “BUSH LIED!” but Kerry lied too, and in his case there is even proof.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) - Recently Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) on 19 February (at a community meeting on Social Security) accused Karl Rove of planting the CBS Bush guard memos. This story got play with the bloggers but has since died, never turning into a real story. Congressman Hinchey is the type of person who will say anything that he thinks his supporters want to hear, and they want an authority figure to take a stand against the President, because they know he is a “draft dodger.” Who cares if there are no facts to support the charge, and now thanks to the CBS Report there are even facts supporting that the President did fulfill his commitment. But no matter, if the truth does not fit in supporting the conspiracy, then it should be ignored and the lies should be repeated as fact as people want to believe that it is true, even if it is not. Mr. Hinchey, member of Congress.

Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) – congresswoman McKinney is a perfect example of the fact that we have a representative government. A certain portion of our country fits into the “extremist” category s some of them are bound to end up in congress. Now I have no idea if the congresswoman believes what she preaches, after all, we know that politicians stretch the truth. But looking at what she advocated when talking during an event sponsored by the extremists of International A.N.S.W.E.R:

Cutting all recruitment funding for the military

Teach teens to complete their Selective Service Registration as conscientious objector

That white men disenfranchised blacks from voting in 2000 (dis-proven in court)

Unnamed Administration Officials – No good anti-administration story is complete without a quote from some “unnamed official.” The better ones have a spare copy of an internal memo or classified report to pass on to the press. There are no shortage of unnamed officials, that if you cannot find one who will help you with your story, I doubt anyone (other than the White House) would notice that the source does not really exist. I dare bet that most stories in the press start with some disgruntled government staffer. Just think about it, DC is full of government employees working at all levels as well as a ton of reporters. They are bound to mix.

The Protestors - Then there are the anti-bush, anti-war protestors. They yell for access in order to express their free speech, then when it is given to them they tear up protective fences, toss garbage cans. These are also the same people while demanding to have their voice heard, become the most violent when others who disagree with them want to express their right to free speech too.

The “Left” decries Bush’s mythical “Brownshirts.” There is no evidence of Bush attempting to crush Free speech. There was even an editorial in the Wall Street Journal pointed out that the staff in the National Archives bookstore were openly pleased with their selection of Anti-Bush propaganda that they offered for sale. So if Bush cannot limit dissent in his “own” bookstore, how can he do it anywhere else. Anyway, he has been heckled before and far from looking annoyed; he would comment that he loves free speech. Sure they are dragged out of the event so that the president can continue, but they are not shot on the sidewalk, nor are many arrested, and those who are, are released soon thereafter. After all, the President has the right to talk too. And those listening to him also have the right to decline to listen to you.

The Extremists - The great thing about the many Liberal fringe persons and groups is that the Democratic leadership can rightfully disavow of their activities. They are however able to take advantage of the actions, claims and press that these groups generate.

Michael Moore - Nothing like having members of congress ignoring the lies and distortions in your movie while lending creditability to his work.

Anarchists. - Their behavior is not denounced by the Democrats. Anarchists are the “Brownshirts” of the Left. Just try to have a debate with them to confirm this.

International A.N.S.W.E.R. – Great at organizing a protest to paralyze a city

Ted Rall

Maureen Dowd.

The ACLU - The legal arm of the conspiracy. They fight to protect our privacy at any cost. The terrorists on Sept 11th took advantage of their right to privacy to do us harm. They play a very important role in the conspiracy. For example, some September 11 widows get on TV to demand that congress approve the changes recommended by the Commission investigating the attacks. So congress does this. Now that the President passed it into law, the ACLU is out fighting the provisions, some of which are called “Patriot Act II.”

I explained to my wife who is a foreign national (a citizen of the EU.) She had the most enlightening comment about the possible threat of the government thumbing through our underwear drawer and checking out or library choices; “like anyone in the government has time to do that!” Two years (almost three now!) on and we are still waiting for her green card. Perhaps they can’t pick open our front door. I also have a history of living overseas and travel around the world. Surely the government should suspect me. But there is no indication that they are interested in the least with my life. I obtained security clearance without a problem. Might it be that they are busy elsewhere investigating really suspicious people? Lets say the FBI sneaks into someone’s house and finds a head in the freezer. Do we fight to get the person off the hook because his privacy was invaded? What about the rights of the victim? Which right is more important?

I myself did not hear about Patriot Act II until the President signed it into law. The story gave the impression that the government (read Republicans) was sneaking this by everyone. Now I have read the Patriot Act and have yet to find a person who can walk me through the parts that are against our rights. I encourage you to read it too. Perhaps you might become familiar with something so evil. Read it here.

The NAACP, Gays and other Minorities – “The Republican Party is anti-Black.” Yet it is President Bush who appointed two Blacks to head the Department of State, third in line for the Presidency. Now the excuse the left gives is that these are “token” appointments or even that the President is using minorities to advance illegal activities. Well they were not the only two minorities the President has appointed. As it turns out, he has a fistful of “tokens” working for him. Some sources claim that the President has appointed more minorities than any other president in history. (Bet we won’t see that on 60 Minutes anytime soon.) Would the Kerry Administration have appointed a diverse mix for his cabinet? We will never know, but the internet does have a number of articles on who might have ended up in his cabinet. Minorities and women do not feature very prominently.

The President refused to show up to NAACP meetings. The press reports on this but neglects to report that the President does meet with other minority groups. Now being a white person, there is no way that I can accurately analyze the complex issues of the Black Community, so I won’t. But if you would like to read what at least some blacks think of the NAACP, then read HERE.

Gays and Lesbians were most decidedly against the President. Yet he had one as a senior member of his reelection committee, the Vice President’s daughter. Did he use her to try and sway some of the gay and lesbian vote? Nope, from all accounts they were not interested in taking advantage of the situation. It did not stop the Democrats from trying to use her. After the election, a secret tape of the President came out. It should have been heartening for the gay community as it documented that the President was against using any position against Gays as a way to win votes. But no, this appears to have been ignored.

Mainstream Media (MSM) - The press in general has been biased against President Bush since he won the Republican nomination for President (in 2000.) They employed an obscene double standard when it came to the recent presidential campaign. This is now the second election in a row where post election, the press freely admits that they were decidedly slanted against President Bush.

The 2000 election in Florida. Bush “stole” the election. Well the news organizations paid to inspect all of the questionable ballots in Florida. Their final tally showed Bush winning Florida. Well that was not as newsworthy as finding that the total favored Gore so the press recount never really made headlines. Not that it would have stopped the masses that truly believe that Bush stole Florida. Even after he won Florida a second time by a landslide.

Then there is the anal investigation of President Bush’s reserve service. There was never a serious investigation of Kerry’s service record. (After all, he was a Vietnam War hero.) President Bush signed Standard Form 180 (SF-180) releasing all his military records to the world. These have been put under the microscope. At the same time Kerry charged that Bush never released all his records. Once he signed his Form 180, it was no longer up to him. Senator Kerry has to this day refused to sign Standard Form 180, while claiming that he has released all of his military records. This despite a statement from the Navy that there were still about 100 pages that are still not public. Again, why is the press not hounding him on this point? Certainly a good reporter can come up with 20 minutes worth or material for 60 Minutes. “Senator, President Bush signed the form authorizing the release of all his military records, when so you plan to do the same thing?”

The press ignores Democrat racists and racial remarks made by black members of congress, but if a Republican makes a racist remark, it runs non-stop in the press. There is an ex-member of the Klu Klux Clan serving in Congress. Now before you try and guess which Republican it is, I will give you a hint. He is a Democrat.

Also ignored by the press were numerous past statements by Democrats about what a danger Saddam Hussein was and that he needed to give up his weapons programs. The impression you get from the press is that Bush was the only person who considered Saddam a threat and believed that Iraq had WMDs.

The press often serves the function of a foreign intelligence service. There are reporters in the US working overtime to undermine our government’s secrets. How about going into North Korea and doing an investigative report there on the millions who are starving, or on their “peaceful” nuclear energy project? Why not? Perhaps they know that they just might end up executed because they found something interesting, or even just for looking. So really the press might just be spending so much time investigating our own government because it is not likely to endanger their lives. Perhaps the press appreciates due process after all.

Now there is much more that I can add to the accounting of this conspiracy of the left, but I think I have made my point, without even adding a paragraph on the legend of the President’s puppet master Karl Rove. But even that is an example of how the left fails to think things through. After all Rove is just a decoy. (It is so obvious that the real puppet master is Andrew Card.)

I will probably be call a neocon (Even though I am an independent) This piece will be called hate speech. I will be called a racist too, but that’s all right. It will not be the first time. People who know me know that this is not true.

One thing about this conspiracy is that to this point, it has not worked. Bush is still in power. The Republicans are still in control of both houses of congress. And those opposed to them just seem to be getting more and more irrational. Hopefully, some of them will read this and reflect on what has been going one. What they are doing is not working, so perhaps it is time to try something new. After all, the President is looking for partners to reform Social Security and cut Federal Spending.